![]() ![]() Splatterhouse has its share of bugs during the Wicker Bride stage (a scene that would have been awesome if Nicolas Cage hadn't ruined The Wicker Man for us all), a cutscene didn't trigger at the right time. There also aren't any sound effects during that battle. The final boss - a monstrous beast comprised of a thousand corpses - can be easily defeated with a handful of button taps. And by "real", I mean stuff like dodging and striking. Unfortunately, Namco went overboard on a few boss fights - some of them are nothing but Quick-Time Events, which is far less satisfying than a real fight. I could have done without that image, but the concept works. Press buttons to match the onscreen cues, and watch as Rick punches his fist into a monster's sphincter and pulls out its rectum. This feels more like Final Fight than God of War, and I'm cool with that.Īfter beating up enemies, Splatterhouse does pull a page from God of War's handbook with its optional Quick-Time Event "splatter kills". This isn't a particularly hard game, but it's not mindless either spamming the square button simply won't work. They all behave differently - the quick little blue guys are particularly troublesome - and success requires constantly shifting battle tactics. Don't believe anyone who tells you otherwise.ĭuring the brawler scenes, Splatterhouse does a great job of mixing enemies. In short, the 16-bit games had better graphics and thus better gameplay, because graphics and gameplay are always inextricably intertwined. Reviewers didn't write about framerates when covering the Turbo or Genesis games, but they write about them here because it's a problem. The colors aren't as vibrant, the stage design isn't as clever, and the framerate chugs compared to Splatterhouse 2. They're disappointing because they're flat-out worse. Namco misguidedly breaks up the fun 3D brawler action with lame sidescrolling scenes, which are disappointing when compared to the 16-bit originals. If that were the only bad part of the game, we'd have a real winner. It's a fun action game, and the worst parts are the long-ass loading screens. He can then use those arms as weapons and club pitiful creatures to death. ![]() Spilled blood adds points that Rick cashes at any time (not just between levels) to become strong enough to tear arms off of ghouls. The game contains loads of intuitively-enacted abilities, many of which must be earned, which is a thankfully straightforward process. Use normal/heavy attack combinations, swing corrupted demons around the room by their feet, grab weapons like cleavers or baseball bats, and abuse the health-replenishing Terror Mask attacks. The newest Splatterhouse is a brawler with a whole lot of blood. Money drives development, and I don't enjoy encouraging companies to make bad games. And if Namco wants my trust and future cash, this latest episode had better hold up well compared to other manly brawlers on the market. It's Splatterhouse, so I expect it to be true to the series, and I expect it to be better than its predecessors - "new" and "different" aren't enough. Worrying about whether the game's a "reboot" or a "sequel" is dumb. It's modern gaming's version of "do it all over again with a different hero" or, in the case of Valis 4, with a different heroine. The game takes a series that had reached the logical end of its premise, repackages the concept, starts from the beginning, and takes everything in a new direction. Some people say the latest Splatterhouse isn't a sequel - they call it a "reboot". Coming right on the heels of the Friday the 13th movie montage, it's no wonder the original was such a hit - and wherever there's a breakout hit, there's got to be a sequel to squeeze a bit more life from the concept. Way back in 1988, Rick Taylor entered a haunted house with his girlfriend Jennifer, he got the snot kicked out of him, he put on a freaky mask and waxed poetic with a two-by-four, and there was much blood and rejuicing. ![]() In today's world, hacking up misshapen beasts and grabbing softcore pics just isn't enough." of course, those were marketed towards pre-teens who couldn't even get into R-rated flicks. I remember gasping in awe when playing the originals. "Once upon a time, all this blood and nudity would have been daring. ![]()
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